Vietnam sees 20.7 percent drop in poverty levels

According to the World Bank Poverty Assessment 2012 report based on new standards, the poverty rate in Vietnam has fallen from 58 percent to 20.7 percent in the past twenty years.

Impoverished households were mainly in northwest and northeast mountainous regions and some highland provinces, while middle and rich households were in Hong River Delta, southeast region, and coastal cities.

As for urban areas, although poverty rate is low, residents have to face rising costs of living and many citizens work in unofficial sectors or are unemployed and do not have social welfare.

Under the new standards, the poverty line is VND653,000 per person per month(US$2.25).

Projects take stink out of waste issue

Farmers in Hoai Duc District's Tien Yen Commune are learning how to recycle organic waste by re-using it as fertiliser. In the nearby communes of Cat Que, Duong Lieu and Minh Khai, infrastructure to treat garbage and waste water will soon be in place. And under a VND50 billion (US$2 million) project, an underground culvert system will connect a lake filled with waste to a treatment facility.

These programmes are part of a citywide plan to improve sanitation in suburban districts, which have long lagged behind the centre when it comes to treating and disposing of waste. The city's 18 suburban districts contain around 65,000 tonnes of untreated waste in lakes, ponds, canals and ditches, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The city also plans to speed up the construction of waste treatment centres in Soc Son, Dong Anh, Dan Phuong and Chuong My districts and is encouraging people's committees to set up their own collection and treatment groups.

Only Soc Son, Dong Anh, Tu Liem, Gia Lam and Thanh Tri have their own sanitation units. The other 13 have to hire sanitation workers from private companies.

Herbicide hits Quang Binh forest

While the case of a pesticide manufacturer in central Thanh Hoa Province allegedly dumping harmful chemicals in the soil is still causing concerns for people, the public in Quang Binh is shocked to have discovered a local forest farm using herbicide to clear the forest.

Bo Trach Forest Farm in central Quang Binh Province's Bo Trach District was found to using herbicide to clear vegetation in the area's watershed.

The case came to light in mid-August after local residents in Xuan Trach Commune uncovered many herbicide containers thrown across streams in the watershed and complained to local authorities. As many as 80 herbicide containers were later collected, raising local residents' concern over the quality of the area's water source.

Chairman of the district People's Committee, Phan Van Gion, said that representative from the forest farm admitted violations of regulations on the management and use of forests and forest land, as well as the process of using pesticide.

"It's true that the enterprise used herbicide to clear vegetation in the watershed, and didn't collect the containers for treatment. However, the chemical was listed in the national list of allowed substances for use in killing weeds," Bui Van Thang, director of the farm told Lao dong (Labour) newspaper, adding that this was the first time the enterprise had used the herbicide.

"Nine staff of the enterprise hired local residents on their own initiative to care for the forest, resulting in the cause of the incident", Thang said.

Thang said that the herbicide was used on about 27 hectares of the forest so far.

According to a local news source, relevant agencies are conducting further investigations into how many hectares of the forest had actually been sprayed with the chemical and whether it is allowed for use in large areas. The enterprise will be fined based on the level of its violations.

In a related move, other State forest enterprises and forest managers in the area have been asked not to use herbicide to clear vegetation in watersheds, or in areas around water sources, Gion said.

Dong Nai spends big on elephant control

The southern province of Dong Nai will invest VND74 billion (US$3.5 million) in an elephant preservation project from 2014-2020.

Nine elephants have died since 2009, and one person has been killed in an attack. The province has spent billions of dong on compensating residents after their crops were destroyed by elephants.

The project aims to create a sustainable environment for the province's wild elephants and help households near forests live without fear of elephants ravaging their crops.

The committee is waiting for Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's approval to implement the project.

Animal care seminar held at Ha Noi zoo

A four-day seminar on caring for wild animals in captivity, the first one of its kind, was held at Ha Noi's Thu Le Zoo.

Sponsored by Animals Asia, Change for Animals and Shape of Enrichment, the seminar trained over 60 staff members from 14 zoos and rescue centers across the country in diversifying the living environments of wild animals in captivity.

Hundreds of rare birds released in Lao Cai

The forest management department of Van Ban mountainous district in the northern province of Lao Cai released over 100 wild birds into their natural habitat on Tuesday.

The birds, including many rare species such as red-whiskered bulbul (pycnonotus jocosus), white stork (Eretta garzetta) and spotted dove (streptopelia chinensis), were illegally snared by two local people.

According to Ha Minh Son, director of the department, the Hoang Lien – Van Ban Nature Reserve Area is home to many rare species of flora.

Swedish clean technology promotes sustainable development

Clean technology from Sweden is expected to help Viet Nam reduce environment pollution, save energy and cut down on business expenses, the deputy director of HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) said at a seminar held on Monday in HCM City.

Nguyen Van Phuoc spoke at the event organised by the Center for Environmental Technology Cooperation (CENTEC) in collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden and the DNRE.

Phuoc said Viet Nam was seeking new green and clean technology solutions to improve the environmental situation and increase productivity.

It has increasingly become necessary and important in the context of global climate change.

The seminar, which attracted participation of 12 Swedish firms and more than 300 Vietnamese enterprises, provided opportunities for local companies to seek understanding about Swedish technology and for Swedish firms to access the Vietnamese market.

At the seminar, Swedish firms introduced advanced technologies in the sector of water management, waste treatment and renewable energy development.

Phuoc said Sweden and Viet Nam had established 45 years of diplomatic relations.

During this time, Sweden has developed many activities to help Viet Nam protect the environment and develop a sustainable economy.

According to the group Sustainable World Capital, Sweden is one of five countries that has the world's cleanest technology.

Currently, Sweden has 6,000 clean-tech companies in various sectors to develop sustainable solutions, aiming to meet the demand of a 9 billion people worldwide by 2050.

Maria Selin, deputy head of mission at the Swedish Embassy, told Vietnam News that Viet Nam had been badly hit by climate change and it was urgent to address problems related to pollution, air quality, waste and energy.

"Swedish enterprises have brought new technology and innovative solutions with cost-efficiency and new ideas to help Viet Nam reach sustainable development. Problems can be tackled and turned into opportunities; for instance, waste can be turned into biogas, and the air is cleaner as a result," she said.

Selin said that Sweden showed a growing interest in the Vietnamese market, particularly in the clean-tech sector for its potential development.

However, challenges to enter this market include how to find a good partner, cultural differences, and understanding the right way to do business here.

Apart from technology cooperation, Viet Nam also needs to raise awareness of the people and children at an early age about environmental issues.

The Government should make the investment environment more friendly and transparent to foreign enterprises, especially in the matter of corruption, she said.

Tomas Hertzman, director of CENTEC, said Sweden's clean technology was suitable for small- and medium-scale enterprises in developing countries like Viet Nam.

Rapid growth in Viet Nam has had a harsh impact on the environment. The CENTEC project was set up to make Swedish green technology visible in Viet Nam and increase awareness in Sweden about local resources.

CENTEC is a three-year project (2011-2013) financed by the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency under the management of the Embassy of Sweden in Viet Nam.

It aims to support partner cooperation closely between Viet Nam and Sweden, contributing to sustainable development of two countries in the sectors such as environment, energy and climate change.

Following a seminar in HCM City, two similar seminars will be organised in Hoi An on Tuesday and Ha Noi in Wednesday.

Child artist helps poor students

Fourteen-year-old Nguyen Nhat Minh, whose nickname is Nhat Meo, has chosen the best of her paintings for auction on a social media network with the starting price of VND10 million.

She expects that the sale of her "Luckiee" painting will fund four small scholarships for poor students.

Though the online auction was organised between September 4 and 10, a small painting was finally sold for VND20.5 million, which was enough for her to offer scholarships to 10 students.

She wrote on Bgood that she loved to help poor students but she was not able to make a large sum of money to realise her dream. Selling her favourite painting was the only way to give a helping hand.

Many netizens admire her for raising more money than people of more means. The teenager has become an example for everyone.

Breast milk soap proves a hit

Have you ever taken a shower with soap made from human breast milk?

Probably not. You may think it's weird, but a Vietnamese woman is making money selling such soap after learning about it from her husband.

Rumour says that the soap is beneficial for eczema and has other benefits for human skin. Goat and cow milk have long been used for lotions, so why not from a human mother?

Nguyen Thu Trang of HCM City's Go Vap District says she sees nothing unusual about it, and has earned a lot of money from selling the soap.

The idea came to her after her husband Tran Manh Linh returned to Viet Nam from working in South Korea. There, he saw young mothers used their breast milk to make soap for family use.

Customer Le Hai Yen, who brought her own breast milk to Trang's house and asked her to make a soap, said it would be wasteful if her son could not use all of her milk. She uses the soap to bathe the baby and herself.

Trang said one 100g soap bar sells for VND400,000 (US$19). Despite the high price, she does not have enough product to sell because there is a shortage of breast milk and the soap is time-consuming to make.

Love conquers all

He is from the northern province of Hung Yen. She is from the southern province of Dong Nai.

Few people would have imagined that the two young people would meet and then later get married.

Dang Van Tinh, 27, who became disabled when he turned seven years old, discovered Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang, 25, while discussing his disability and destiny on a radio programme. Trang tried to get in touch with him and after that they exchanged SMS messages and letters.

Tinh not only overcame his life's challenges but established a club to help other disabled people live a better life.

Trang was impressed with Tinh's will and courage, and they began to correspond. But Tinh later was reluctant to marry her when he discovered that she had no physical disabilities. He had assumed that she was disabled, too.

However, three years after that, they decided to get married, amid strong opposition from Trang's parents.

He told her in 2011: "I love you, please give me a chance. Do you know I have been waiting for this for a long time?"

Trang says she can never forget the first time they met each other.

She booked an air ticket to meet him in Hung Yen. They hugged each other and cried during. "Now we have met. Do you still love me?" was the first question her husband asked, Trang said.

Farmers in Mekong Delta continue to face losses

Farmers in the Mekong Delta have harvested hundreds of thousands of hectares of autumn-winter rice crop, through harsh weather conditions, but still have to face severe losses.

Since the beginning of the year, the country has sold around 4.8 million tons of rice touching revenue of more than US$2 billion. Nevertheless, the quantity of rice in stockpile still remains high.

Pham Hoang Liet, a farmer in Tan Hoa Commune in Chau Thanh District in the Mekong delta province of Hau Giang complained that farmers face many high overhead costs other than the cost of hiring labor at VND4,000,000 (US$190) per hectare.

Thus, they spend an average of VND700,000 (US$33) but are still unsure of sales as most traders only buy rice harvested by combines.

As per a decision made by the government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to support farmers who have large paddy fields, warehouse for stockpiling will be given free of charge and farmers will also enjoy exemption of land use tax.

The Ministry has promised to adopt policies to bring traders and farmers closer, to help increase farmers’ incomes.

Lyon lighting illuminates HCM City

A Lyon-designed artistic lighting project was inaugurated at the Ho Chi Minh City Central Post Office on September 22, as part of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-France diplomatic ties.

The project is a creative product of the strong relationship between Vietnam and France, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan.

The lighting will contribute to upholding the architectural values of the city by illuminating the over-120-year-old French-style post office, he said.

As part of the French Year in Vietnam, the project reflects bond between the two countries in general and between HCM City and Lyon in particular, said Deputy Mayor of Lyon Gilles Buna.

At a meeting with Vice Chairwoman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Hong on September 20, Gilles said the two cities’ cooperation in urban lighting over the past 15 years has brought positive results and pledged that his city will press ahead with assistance for future projects in HCM City.

Lyon had supported HCM City to carry out other artistic lightening projects at the Ho Chi Minh Museum in 1997, the headquarters of the municipal People’s Committee in 2004 and the Opera House in 2008.

Lawrence S. Ting Fund grants scholarships to poor students

The 11th Lawrence S.Ting Scholarships were given 512 scholarships to poor and disadvantaged students from 33 highschools, colleges and Universities across over the country, worth VND 4.6 billion.

The Lawrence S.Ting Fund donated more than VND4.4 billion to charities and other associations.

Through the program, 4,260 poor and disabled children, and of ethnic groups were granted scholarships.

The program is aimed to encourage disadvantaged and hard working students to study in high schools.

From 2006 until now, Phu My Hung Corporation and Lawrence S.Ting Fund has annually sponsored many such scholarships.

At ceremony organized at Sai Gon Exhibition & Convention Center on September 21 was welcomed the attendances of Ms. Truong My Hoa, former Vice President of Viet Nam; Ms. Tran Thi Ha, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs; Phu My Hung Company and representatives of the Central Trading & Development Group.

United Healthcare breaks ground for new plant in Vietnam

United Healthcare broke ground for a new manufacturing plant at the Hi-Tech Zone on September 21 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The VND219 billion (US$10 million) plant will provide high-quality treatment devices for heart diseases. The HCMC People’s Committee will provide VND91 billion ($4.3 million) for the first seven years and the Ministry of Science and Technology will give VND47.5 billion for the construction of the new plant.

The new plant will be able to produce 18.000 bare metal Stent units annually satisfying 12 percent of the demand, and 60.000 non-drug and drug eluting balloon units.

It will provide medical tools that will be 80 percent cheaper than imported ones in the market.

The factory is following the whole manufacturing technology transferred from United Healthcare Inc., USA. It is expected to operate by the first quarter of 2016 to help reduce import of medical equipment and treatment charges for cardiovascular disease persons from average and low income families.

PM gives green light for building of new hospitals

After a meeting with the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City last week, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung agreed that building an additional four new hospitals in Hanoi and HCMC, pressure of overloading in City Hospitals would ease.

At the meeting, the Ministry of Health petitioned the PM to issue a green light to go ahead with the building of these hospitals.

The four hospitals will be built in Bach Mai and Viet Duc Hospitals in Hanoi and the Children’s and Tumor Hospitals in HCMC.

The PM stated that efforts will be named to speed up the construction of the hospitals to make them fully operational as soon as possible.

On suggestions to upgrade other hospitals, delayed due to lack of funding, the PM asked the Ministries of Health, Planning and Investment, and Finance to look into the matter and report to him by October.

For the construction of Viet-Nhat Hospital from Official Development Aid from Japan, the two ministries of Health, and Planning and Investment, have been asked to work with Japanese counterparts to finish all paper work. The formality should be finished as early as December when the two country’s PMs will meet in Japan.

 Unemployment rate high due to lack of stable jobs

The impact of the global economic crisis seems to have hit the labor market across the country leading to an increase in the number of jobless persons.

Thus, the desire to have a stable job has become the expectation of most workers.

In Vietnam, the unemployment rate is around two percent as every person makes good effort to find any job to earn a living and support his family. However, not all people can get stable and steady jobs, said Nguyen Hoang Ha from the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Excluding laborers in the agriculture sector that accounts for more than 47 percent employment, unofficial employment rate has increased from nearly 36 percent in 2011 to 37 percent in 2012.

More than 77 percent laborers are self employed such as motorbike taxi drivers and street vendors without labor contracts and low monthly income. Moreover, their basic salary cannot make ends meet let alone save for the future.

Statistics show that the country will add 700,000 laborers each year, causing pressure on employment. Another challenge is that labor quality is still low with 58 percent laborers unqualified. Jobless laborers from rural areas continue to flood urban districts, cities to seek jobs without access to proper training.

Associate Professor Nguyen Ba Ngoc from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, said unemployment numbers have inched up since many firms shut down.

Moreover, related agencies just release the report on the general situation and do not go into details or analysis the cause of joblessness.

Meanwhile, around 20 percent laborers are covered with social insurance. Insurance companies just solve policies when the labor contracts end but have no policies to help enterprises maintain and support laborers when firms face difficulties in order to create stable jobs.

Massive changes in store for Vietnam education system

Education experts have proposed significant changes across the board for Vietnamese education, including ending the university entrance exams and lowering the number of subjects on the school curriculum.

On September 19, talking about the education reform plan, Bui Manh Nhi, official from Ministry of Education and Training and a member of the plan's drafting committee said, "big changes to outdated policies, teaching staff and managers are all necessary, but, the key factors required  to further improve Vietnames education are changes in the examination process and in the way we evaluate students."

Vietnamese examinations are always said to be poorly designed, resulting in many students learning the lessons by heart because their ability for using the knowledge is rarely tested. In this draft plan, examinations will be revised.

In addition, universities and colleges are not required to hold entrance exams as before, instead, they will choose students based on their achievements in high school. However, universities and colleges are allowed to hold additional exams if they seem necessary. Officials from the Ministry of Education and Training said, "The reform will fix our current shortcomings and reduce the huge cost of holding so many examinations."

Deputy head of the Ministry of Education and Training said they will reduce the number of mandatory subjects. "Students will have more room in which to show their abilities. Currently, a lot of the information presented in the textbooks of, say, the 5th grade does not take into consideration that the same information might have already been seen in the 4th grade, and this kind of repetition bores the students." he said.

Starting in 2015, students may only have as many as eight mandatory subjects a semester. For example, mandatory subjects for primary school students will be reduced from 11 to 3-6 and the subjects for secondary students will be reduced from 13 to 8.

Because high school students, especially 11th and 12th graders, are so concerned with career choices the mandatory subjects will only be Maths, Literature and a  foreign language. Students will choose three other optional subjects that they think will benefit them in the future.

Households near Song Tranh 2 Hydropower worry about flooding

People living near Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant in the central province of Quang Nam have been worrying about their safety as the flood season comes.

Recently, due to the impact of tropical storms, Bac Tra My District in Quang Nam Province have seen heavy rains which threaten Song Tranh 2 Hydropower dam.

The water level at the dam is already high. Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant opened six water discharge gates in case of a large-scale flood.

Ho Thi Lan, whose house is situated less than 1km from the dam's foot, said since early September despite having no earthquakes, local households  have been anxious about the flooding. These days, the water level at the dam has been rising because of the heavy rain in spite of it not being the peak flooding season.

Another resident, Nguyen Thi Lieu, from Tra Doc Commune said, “We have had to struggle with the effects of the earthquakes for some time. Last year, my house had some cracked walls, but we only received the support of VND2 million (USD95.23) compared up to the dozens of millions of VND spent for repair activities.”

Ho Van Loi, Chairman of Tra Doc Commune People’s Committee said, “Hundreds of local homes have seen cracks that have not yet been repaired. The financial assistance for these households is very modest.”

Huynh Ngoc Thieu, Head of Bac Tra My District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said recently Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant had encounter the biggest flooding since the earthquake.

Between September and November 2012, Song Tranh 2 Hydro-power Plant saw more than 70 earthquakes of different scale, causing great losses for local people.

Medical waste poses health and environmental concerns

Medical waste and wastewater which are often improperly treated or even discharged directly into the environment are adding to health concerns and environmental pollution in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health’s Environment Management Department said at a seminar on the issue in HCM City on September 19,  they are finding solutions for  waste and wastewater discharged by the 13,000 hospitals and private health consultation rooms nationwide.

On average, hospitals at central level discharge over seven tonnes of waste daily, while facilities at lower levels discharge 38 tonnes of waste in total every day.

The amount of wastewater discharged by hospitals and medical stations across the country varies from 30,000 cubic metres to 100,000 cubic metres per day, depending on the size of the facility.

Even though medical waste must be classified into five different groups for suitable treatment under the current regulations, many hospitals and medical stations have been unable to comply with these rules due to the lack of standard waste treatment systems.

According to the department, 69% of hospitals and 32% of health provision facilities have hired waste treatment services or processed the waste on their own. Many of the remaining medical stations have opted to bury or burn the waste in improper conditions.

The treatment of medical wastewater is also a major concern of the department. Currently 63.5% of hospitals and half of pharmaceutical production establishments, have built their own wastewater treatment systems.

A lot of untreated medical wastewater is discharged directly onto the surrounding land causing great public concern over potential health and environmental hazards.

“Several hospital leaders claimed that they are still lacking funding for medicines let alone for correct waste treatment,” Nguyen Dinh Anh, an official from the department said.

Anh blamed the situation on a lack of awareness by leaders of medical stations.

The lack of human resources for the newly-established department and the lack of related regulations also exacerbate the situation, he commented.

Leopards found near village

Experts have confirmed that two wild animals attacking the village poultry in Lam Dong Province were leopards.

After research with the employees from Cuc Phuong National Park to examine footprints found in Nghia Hiep Village, Lam Dong Province Forest Protection Department announced that the two animals were in fact leopards (Panthera pardus), a member of the Felidae family.

These leopards lurked around the bushes near Lien Khuong Airport, waiting to approach Nghia Hiep Village at night to hunt on poultry farms.

At lease six households in the village claimed that they have lost geese to these leopards. This problem has threatened the safety of both villagers and people at the airport.

The Forest Protection Unit in Duc Trong District was asked to keep an eye on the animals and find the most suitable solutions to this problem.

Since 2009, the leopards have been classified as an endangered species in Vietnam's Red Book. Earlier this year, three wild animals, suspected as leopards, also appeared in Village 1, Da Huoai District.

National hero Nguyen Trai remembered

A ceremony was held on September 20 to commemorate the 571st death anniversary of national hero and world cultural celebrity Nguyen Trai (1942-2012) at his native land in the northern province of Hai Duong.

Nguyen Trai, pen name Uc Trai, was born in Chi Ngai commune, Chi Linh district in 1380. He followed Le Loi in the resistance war against the Ming invaders and made great contributions to the nation’s glorious victories.

He was also the author of a huge volume of literary works, including 110 poems and especially Binh Ngo Dai Cao (Great Proclamation upon the Pacification of the Wu), one of the country’s first declarations of independence.

In 1980, on the occasion of his 600th birthday, Nguyen Trai was recognised by UNESCO as a world cultural celebrity, an eminent military expert and a talented politician.

Binh Duong solid waste treatment complex opened

A solid waste treatment complex worth 16 million EUR (21.6 million USD) came into operation on September 20 in the southern province of Binh Duong.

The waste treatment complex was funded by domestic capital (57.24%) and the Finland’s ODA (42.76%).

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen said Binh Duong waste treatment complex will reduce land-fill volume, produce environmentally friendly goods to save natural resources.

Finland’s Ambassador Kimmo Lahdevirta to Vietnam was also present at the event.

The Binh Duong waste treatment complex in Ben Cat District has two main areas - a domestic-waste treatment area where the solid waste is treated and recycled into compost with a daily capacity of 420 tonnes, and an industrial leaching treatment plant with a capacity of 480 cubic metres per hour.

The industrial and hazardous treatment area in the complex is designed to incinerate 500 tonnes of industrial solid waste per day.

Binh Duong is currently located 28 industrial zones and has the population growth rate of 10% per year, therefore increasing the need for treating domestic and hazardous industrial wastes.-

Festival highlights sea and island sovereignty

Nearly 2,000 youngsters in Ho Chi Minh City gathered at a festival on September 22 held to raise public awareness of the country’s specific sea and island sovereignty.

Organised by the municipal Vietnam Youth Federation (VYF), the festival also aimed to encourage a patriotic and peace-loving spirit in the youths.

Many activities took place during the festival. They included a photo exhibition, a drawing contest on the theme of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and a competition to learn about the country’s sea and islands.

A training course explaining Vietnam ’s sea and border laws was also held as part of the event. The significance of borderline demarcation between Vietnam and its neighbours was explained to participants.

An art performance programme, which will take place in the evening on September 23, will be the highlight of the festival.

The organising board hopes that the events will spur youths to contribute to the development and protection of the country.

At the opening ceremony, VYF presented 1,000 national flags to fisherman in Can Gio district in Ho Chi Minh City and 2,000 others to Ly Son islanders in the central province of Quang Ngai . The organising board also offered 10 sets of computers to soldiers and officers of the Naval Zone 2.

The municipal VYF called on people to provide support for the children of soldiers stationed at border and island areas and promoted the fund named “For beloved Truong Sa – on the front line,” which was established by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City.-

Autumn festival-goers pray for fallen soldiers

A requiem in tribute to soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the nation was held in the northern province of Hai Duong on September 22 as part of the Con Son – Kiep Bac Autumn Festival.

Those in attendance at the ceremony remembered fallen Vietnamese soldiers from throughout history, including those who served during the Tran dynasty and fought against the Yuan–Mongol invaders from the north in the 13th and 14th centuries.

They also prayed for national peace and prosperity for all people.

Following the somber ceremony, thousands of colorful flower-shaped lanterns were released along the Luc Dau River.

The event concluded by wowing the crowds with a vibrant firework display.

Earlier on the same day, a provincial-scale rowing tournament took place at the Kiep Bac Temple Lake to celebrate the festival. It drew the participation of more than 120 male and female rowers from six teams in the province.

Covering an area of more than 8 ha in Chi Linh town, the Con Son – Kiep Bac historical site is closely associated with the lives and careers of national heroes Tran Hung Dao (1228-1300), who led Vietnamese troops to repel three major Mongolian invasions in the 13th century, and Nguyen Trai (1380-1442), who was recognised as a Great Man of Culture of the World.

It was recognised as a national heritage site in 1962 and a special national heritage site in 2012.

The Con Son – Kiep Bac spring and autumn festivals have been recognised as national intangible cultural heritage.-

Vietnam, Japan friendship associations meet

A celebratory friendship meeting was held in the northern city of Vinh Phuc on September 21 to mark the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Japan .

The event was attended by former Japanese Prime Minister and President of the Japan-Vietnam Council for Peace and Friendship Tomiichi Muarayama, Deputy Vice Chairman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association Nguyen Sy Dung and Chairman of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association Furuta Motoo, among others.

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Vinh Phuc province, Phung Quang Hung, spoke highly of the competence, technological capability and prestige of Japanese enterprises, and thanked the country’s government, people and businesses for investing and supporting Vinh Phuc province over the past time.

Vinh Phuc is one of several Vietnamese provinces to have formed cooperative relations with Japanese firms, and there are currently 19 Japanese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects operating effectively in the locality, he added.

The official voiced his desire for the Japanese friendship associations to help attract more Japanese investors to the province.

For his part, Furuta Motoo expressed his pride in the contributions the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association has made to nurturing relations between the two countries.

He hoped that this visit will help the delegates understand more about Vinh Phuc province as well as strengthening communication with the province and Vietnam at large.

The delegation took the occasion to visit Honda Vietnam, a Vietnam-Japan joint venture company which has provided effective investment in Vinh Phuc province since 1995.

Vietnam’s response to climate change reinforce

Climate change would trigger harsher weather extremes in Vietnam in the coming time as it has in the past 50 years caused sea level in the country rising by 20 cm and average temperature up 0.5 degree Celsius.

At a seminar to review a project on national response capacity to climate change in Hanoi on September 20, Deputy Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Tran Hong Ha reasserted that Vietnam is one of the countries hardest affected by climate change, especially sea level rise.

The adoption of a resolution, a target programme, a strategy and a plan of action at national scale together with action plans issued by ministries, sectors and localities showed how serious Vietnam is in tackling climate change, the Government official said.

Head of the Hydrometeorology and Environment Institute Tran Thuc said the project’s four-year operation has contributed sizably to the building of the national strategy, the national target programme and the action plan in response to climate change.

The project, which also involved in how to reduce vulnerability and control green house gas emissions, has helped build up documents and technical guidelines to support activities to cope with climate change in Vietnam, Thuc added.

UNDP representative Bakhodir Burkhavov said the project worked to strengthen the policy-building capacity and scientific research on climate change as well as raising awareness and training human resources for the issue.

The same day, a discussion on how concerned parties can involve in appraising environmental impacts took place in Hanoi.

Participants voiced that an important step to verify environmental impact appraisal outcome that is to consult the community at the project site is seemingly neglected.

As such consultation is not yet legalised, the role and participation of local people and social organisations have not been paid due attention, the participants observed.

The consultation and information publicity regarding environmental impact appraisal has been regulated in the revised Law on Environmental Protection since 2005. However, shortcomings in implementing the activity remained.

The event was jointly held by the People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature), the Asia Foundation and the Vietnam Forum of Environmental Journalists (VFEJ).-

Lam Dong joins environmental protection campaigns

A total of 2,700 trees were planted in the campus of Da Lat University in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong on September 20.

The event, coorganised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Lam Dong provincial People’s Committee, responds to the “One million green trees” fund and the 2013 “Making the world cleaner” campaign.

The fund was jointly launched by the Vietnam Environment Administration and the Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) last year to call upon communities to plant more trees in residential and public areas in big cities nationwide.

Initiated in 1993 by Australia, the world cleaning campaign has been carried out globally by the United Nations, involving hundreds of millions of people from more than 130 countries and territories.

The campaign aims to raise public awareness of and responsibility for environmental protection and encourage people to take part in community activities and to use environmentally-friendly products.

Also on September 20, Lam Dong province hosted a seminar on the effective protection and exploitation of water resources in response to the campaign.

Conference seeks efficient environmental management

Around 200 international and domestic delegates sought to foster linkages between the State, businesses and researchers in managing the environment at a conference held in Hanoi on September 20.

The event was co-organised by the Centre for Environmental Technology Cooperation between Vietnam and Sweden ( CENTEC), the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam, the Stockholm Environment Institute ( SEI ) and Vietnam’s Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE).

Integrated measures, feasible technologies and legal issues and policies related to the environment were introduced to the delegates.

CENTEC Director Tomas Hertzman told the delegates that waste and environmental pollution issues in Sweden have been resolved efficiently due to the sound legal corridor and stimulating policies.

At the conference, experts debated factors essential to mutual cooperation between the State, firms and researchers as well as ways to take full advantage of the partnership between Vietnamese and Swedish enterprises.

On the occasion, CENTEC and Swedish businesses held an exhibition themed European Green Business Solutions for Vietnam at Hanoi-based Melia hotel, showcasing environmental technologies and equipment from Sweden.-

IFAD provides 33 mln USD for central poor households

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has officially approved a 33 million USD aid to help increase incomes for poor households and mitigate climate change impacts in the central provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

IFAD announced the aid at the 109 th session of its Governing Council in Rome , Italy on September 19, which saw the participation of Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nuyen Hoang Long, Vietnamese Permanent Representative at the IFAD.

This is the first aid of IFAD for Vietnam in the framework of its Country Strategic Opportunities Programme in the 2012-2017 period (COSOP 2012-2017).

With positive assessments on the realisation of its assistance in Vietnam over the past time, the fund plans to continue support for the country to help it maintain poverty reduction achievements and increase its adaptation to climate change.